The city and Cleveland Metroparks have been awarded a $149,164 state grant that will pay for installation of new wetlands in Big Creek Reservation.

The wetlands, which will measure about three-quarters of an acre, will absorb and clean storm water before it enters Big Creek in Parma.

News came of the grant award earlier this month. The city and Metroparks had applied for the grant in March.

“This is a project we can do on a neighborhood level that will help with water quality,” said Richard Kerber, director of planning, design and natural resources for the Metroparks.

Kerber said there is a growing movement to keep storm water clean so that it does not pollute streams and rivers.

“The state realizes that Cuyahoga County has needs when it comes to storm water,” Kerber said of the grant.

Kerber said the Metroparks will design the wetlands this winter. The plan is to start construction in May or June and finish by July.

“It’s a fairly small-scale project but there are always glitches that might come up,” Kerber said.

The Metroparks will use the wetlands — which will be located near the Fernhill picnic area off Big Creek Parkway — to teach park patrons the importance of purifying storm water before it flows into streams.

The project will consist of several elements, including a rock-lined bay that will resemble a retention pond.

The bay will act as a pre-treatment area for storm water. Pollutants — including nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment — will begin to drop out of the water here.

Next, the water will flow through a newly installed pipe and into the wetlands. Vegetation in the wetlands will soak up some storm water and reduce the amount of flow into Big Creek.

Water leaving the wetlands will be cleaned of additional debris. Then the water will flow through another pipe, into an existing storm sewer and into the creek.

The Fernhill wetlands installation is one of more than 150 projects recommended in the comprehensive Big Creek Watershed Plan, which was endorsed by the state of Ohio in June 2011.

The plan’s purpose is to stop flooding and stream-bank erosion and improve storm-water quality.

The plan looks at communities from which storm water enters Big Creek. Those communities include Parma, Parma Heights, Brooklyn, Brook Park, Cleveland, Linndale and North Royalton.

The Fernhill wetlands would be the first project done under the Big Creek watershed plan.

The watershed plan was prepared by the Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization. Also involved were the Big Creek Watershed Partnership, Friends of Big Creek, the Metroparks and the watershed communities.

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